Dickcissel

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Dickcissel
Male in breeding plumage
Female
Song

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Cardinalidae
Genus: Spiza
Bonaparte, 1824
Species:
S. americana
Binomial name
Spiza americana
(Gmelin, 1789)
  Breeding
  Breeding (scarce)
  Migration
  Nonbreeding
  Nonbreeding (scarce)
Synonyms

Emberiza townsendi
Emberiza townsendii (lapsus)
Spiza townsendi
Spiza townsendii (lapsus)
(see text)

The dickcissel (Spiza americana) is a small

extinct
species (see below).

Taxonomy

The dickcissel was

monotypic; no subspecies are recognised.[6]

The dickcissel is part of a group of the Cardinalidae that also includes

true finches
, which it somewhat resembles at first glance – gives away its relationships.

"Townsend's dickcissel"

Lithograph of "Townsend's Bunting"

A problematic specimen is often discussed under the name of Spiza townsendi (or Spiza townsendii, the original misspelt

extinct relative. In 2014, Kyle Blaney photographed the bird in Ontario, proving its continuing existence.[11]

It is commonly called "Townsend's dickcissel" (or "Townsend's bunting", "Townsend's finch"

pheomelanins
not being tinged by lipochromes.

Thus, this bird is very likely certainly the result of a simple genetic change, perhaps just a single

carotinoid metabolism – essentially the same thing that happens in albinism, but in a different metabolic pathway
. Though the bird seemed to be healthy and had survived to maturity when it found its untimely end through Townsend's gun, no other such specimens have been documented before, nor ever since. Albinism and other pigment aberrations are not infrequently seen in birds, and the lack of further specimens is somewhat puzzling in that respect.

No specific details are known about the dickcissel's lipochrome metabolism; it may be more fine-tuned than in other birds, so that most mutations therein will be lethal and Audubon's bird was simply one of the very few individuals that survived. In wild birds, varying from species to species, some color aberrations are less frequently seen than others, and in captive birds such as

Passeroidea
.

Alternatively, the bird was considered a

mitochondrial and nuclear DNA
sequences of the specimen with those of the dickcissel, the indigo bunting, and perhaps other Passerina, the hybridization hypothesis should be far more easy to prove or reject than a color aberration. On the other hand, not enough is known on whether dickcissels pick up their characteristic vocalizations from conspecific males or whether they are innate, thus no firm conclusion regarding Townsend's observations has been made.

Description

Male in nonbreeding plumage - Maywood, Illinois

Their length is 5.5–6.3 in (140–160 mm), wingspan is 9.8–10.2 in (250–260 mm), and weight is0.9–1.4 oz (26–40 g).[13] Dickcissels have a large, pale bill, a yellow line over the eyes, brownish upperparts with black streaks on the back, dark wings, a rust patch on the shoulders, and light underparts. Adult males have a black throat patch, a yellow breast, and grey cheeks and crown. This head and breast pattern is especially brilliant in the breeding plumage, making it resemble an eastern meadowlark. Females and juveniles are brownish on the cheeks and crown, and are somewhat similar in appearance to house sparrows; they have streaked flanks.

In flight, they make a low, "electric", buzzing fpppt. From an open perch in a field, this bird's song is a sharp dick dick followed by a buzzed cissel, also transcribed as skee-dlees chis chis chis or dick dick ciss ciss ciss.[14]

Distribution and habitat

Their breeding

midwestern North America. Following the breeding season the species migrates in large flocks to southern Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. They may occur as vagrants well outside of their normal range. From 1966 to 2015 the dickcissel experienced a greater than 1.5% population reduction in the northern part of its breeding range and throughout the Midwestern United States.[15]

Behaviour and ecology

Breeding

The birds migrate to their breeding range rather late, with the first arriving only in May, with most birds only arriving in early June.[16][17] They nest near the ground in dense grasses or small shrubs, or up to 3–4 ft (91–122 cm) high in bushes and trees. Males may have up to six mates, with most attracting only one or two, and several failing to attract any mates at all. Yet if such "bachelors" survive until the next summer, they will get another try to attract females, as the partners only stay together for raising one brood. Dickcissels are thus among the few songbirds that are truly polygynous. When they leave for winter quarters by early August or so,[17] what little pair bond existed during the summer is broken up.

Feeding

Dickcissels forage on the ground or in fields. They mainly eat insects and seeds. Outside of the nesting season, they usually feed in flocks. They are considered a pest by farmers in some regions because flocks can consume large quantities of cultivated grains.

Dickcissel populations frequently fluctuate in numbers, even to the extent that their range changes notably. In the early 19th century, dickcissels expanded eastward, establishing a population in

mid-Atlantic states that disappeared around the end of the century. Both appearance and disappearance were probably related to changes in land use.[18]

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22723796A94833705.en
    . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ Gmelin, Johann Friedrich (1789). Systema naturae per regna tria naturae : secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1, Part 2 (13th ed.). Lipsiae [Leipzig]: Georg. Emanuel. Beer. p. 872.
  3. ^ Pennant, Thomas (1785). Arctic Zoology. Vol. 2. London: Printed by Henry Hughs. p. 363, Plate 17.
  4. ^ Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1970). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 13. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. pp. 217–216.
  5. ^ Bonaparte, Charles Lucien (1824). "Observations on the nomenclature of Wilson's Ornithology". Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 4: 25–66 [45].
  6. ^
    Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (2020). "Cardinals, grosbeaks and (tanager) allies"
    . IOC World Bird List Version 10.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  7. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4
    .
  8. ^ Audubon, John James (1834). "Townsend's Bunting". Ornithological Biography, or an account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America. Vol. 2. Edinburgh: Adam Black. pp. 183–184.
  9. ^ Audubon, John James (1841). "Townsend's Bunting". The Birds of America, from drawings made in the United States and their territories. Vol. 3. New York: J.B. Chevalier. p. 62, Plate 157.
  10. ^ Ridgway, Robert (1901). "Spiza townsendii (Audubon)". The Birds of North and Middle America. Bulletin of the United States National Museum. Volume 50, Part 1. Washington. pp. 174–175.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  11. ^ "Open Mic: The Townsend's Bunting Story". ABA Blog. 2014-09-18. Retrieved 2017-06-25.
  12. ^ Spiza townsendi. Avibase
  13. ^ "Dickcissel Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology". www.allaboutbirds.org. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  14. ISBN 0-679-45122-6
  15. ^ "Dickcissel Spiza americana BBS Trend Map, 1966 - 2015". USGS. US Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
  16. Wilson Bull.
     18 (2): 47–60.
  17. ^ a b Ohio Ornithological Society (2004): Annotated Ohio state checklist Archived July 18, 2004, at the Wayback Machine.
  18. American Ornithologists' Union
    , Washington, D.C.

Further reading

External links


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